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INTRODUCTION
GOTTSCHEERISCH (göttscheabarisch), a German dialect, was the spoken language of Gottschee. It may be encountered in variations of spelling, pronunciation and vocabulary. The Gottscheer text here is given with English pronunciation guide, English translation, and the formal
German translation.
A pronunciation guide is given with each sentence of Gottscheer text. The section HELP WITH PRONUNCIATION gives additional information, especially on sounds that have no English
equivalent. There are three letters or sounds that are not easily translated
and, therefore, are used in the pronunciation guide as is: ö, ü, and ch, as well
as a few related diphthongs. The reader is asked to check the HWP-box for instructions
in how to pronounce these letters.
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As this is a German dialect, the natural inclination for Gottscheers may be to write
their native tongue according to the standard German spelling rules, as many other German dialects are done. For the
Gottscheer tongue, this has proved impractical. Certain sounds of our dialect have no equivalent in the formal German
language, which makes it difficult or impossible to adhere to standard spelling rules. Most Gottscheer poets and writers
have in their work used a uniform spelling system that is based on the German phonetic alphabet but slightly differing from
the standard spelling rules. Although GOTTSCHEERISCH FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS is written in accordance with this modified
spelling system, a compromise has been made for simplicity and a more reader-friendly appearance: One unusual letter,
an overturned "e" that represents the sound of "e" as in "the", is replaced with regular "e" or "a", and in the pronunciation
guide generally indicated as "uh" or by the use of an apostrophe.
HELP WITH PRONUNCIATION
Spelling: Pronunciation:
ö
as in curly, Sir
ü German
ü; French u as in rue (no English equivalent)
ai igh
as in high (German ei)
oi oy
as in toy (German eu, äu)
au aou
as in now
ua ua (no equivalent) Pull the sounds “oo” and “uh” together,
with emphasis on “oo”
aü
aoü (no equivalent) Pull the
sounds “ah” and “ü” together
to form a diphthong.
üa
üa (no equivalent) Pull the
sounds “ü” and “uh” together,
with emphasis on “ü”.
ea
eah as in bear
ia eah as in dear
oa oah
as in broad
ch German ch; pronounced as a strong aspirated “h”
with
the
tongue in place for “k”. (No English equivalent.)
j y as in you
k between
(gg) and (k)
kh
k as in keep
sch sh as in sheep
sh zh
as in measure
tsch tsh as in witch
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